On Sunlit Waters We Lay Dreaming
by S. Sgriobhadaireachd
Summary: There are many friends, lovers and enemies for you to have in Middle-Earth. Lord of the Rings/Hobbit/Silmarillion reader-inserts from my blog on Tumblr. Each chapter contains all the details in the notes.
1. Boromir-Reader

**Chapter Summary:** Prompt from silversong79: I was wondering if you could possibly write something with Boromir, where he teaches the reader how to sword-fight (just basic stuff I guess) and they end up kissing at the end?

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"Hold it higher. If you don't, I can come in from this angle and gut you before you have time to stop me. Do you understand?"

You nodded, muscles burning as you hefted the sword into the instructed position. It felt awkward and forced but the others told you that would change with time and endurance. You were still new enough to sword-fighting that everything felt heavy and strange.

Boromir's grey eyes quickly assessed your new stance and nodded in satisfaction. Boromir was no means a cruel teacher but he was strict and gave praise sparingly, which made every nod or good word worth the pain. "Like that. Now, try coming at me again." He hefted his own sword, a broad one meant to be wielded with two hands, and dropped into a defensive stance.

You swung at him again, the blade swinging neatly through the air as it came flying at Boromir. His blade met yours easily and the impact sent jarring shockwaves down your arm, something Boromir assured that you would eventually grow used to. Using his strength, he shoved you back, trying to throw you off balance and leave you open for attack. Gritting your teeth, you quickly moved back like he taught you and swung around to hit him again, using the force of your spin to add more power to the sword's strike.

The blades shrieked as they met successfully between your bodies and Boromir paused, nodding again, the great wall of his chest moving in and out with his breathing. Something like a smile was tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Good. You've got it."

You grinned at the warmth that lit in you, breathing heavily from the exertion of the exercise. "I have an excellent teacher." You reminded him, not feeling the need to move from where your bodies were almost touching. The swords remained crossed in front of you in the shape of an X, the two of you looking into each other's eyes in between the blades.

The smile grew, lighting those grey eyes that all descendants of Lúthien and Elros had. "All credit cannot be given to the teacher. A quick and willing student makes a large difference when it comes to learning. You will be a great fighter one day."

A sudden flush of heat rushed across your body, painting your cheeks and neck pink. You prayed to the Valar it wasn't noticeable, but judging from the way that Boromir's eyes were suddenly drawn to your cheeks and neck, that prayer was going to go unanswered.

"Do my words offend you?" He asked. His tone was not one of concern but rather probing and deep, his eyes darkening as they returned to yours. Something squirmed deep in your gut.

"Exactly the opposite, my Captain." You assured him, the words coming across breathy and strange. You fought to regain your composure. "You honor me with your words."

"Then might I," he asked as he leaned in closer, careful of the blades between you, "honor you with more than my words?" His eyes trailed to your lips and back, leaving no question about what he had in mind.

"Of course-" You had barely gotten the words past your lips before he was kissing you, quick and light. The barest sensations of his lips and beard tickled across your face, igniting your senses and leaving you desperate for more contact. All too soon, you felt him ending the kiss and tried to chase after him, a grumbling whine escaping your throat.

"As much as I would like to kiss you more," he murmured as he pulled back, a small grin on his lips and a spark in his eyes, "we are in a public place and we are carrying two sharp swords between us. Our lesson is not finished either. Perhaps we can continue this another time?"

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 _A/N: First prompt of the new blog! I opened a new reader-insert blog (because apparently I don't hate myself enough with another reader-insert blog already and several stories to write) because I adore the Tolkien fandom and was dying to write for it. After months of debating, I finally opened it up and I have no regretted it since; the blog is eowyns-fanfiction on Tumblr and I would love it if you came by and asked me to write something! This was so much fun to write; just imagine those grey eyes staring you down like there's nothing else but you in the world..._

 _...sigh~~~. Anyway, this is a very special fic because it was the first and the one that got all of the others started, so you have silversong79 to thank for that. Thank you so much darling for sending this in :)_

 _Each chapter will include the prompt and be titled with the character for convenience._

 _As always, I hope you're having a wonderful day!_


	2. Faramir-Reader

**Chapter Summary:** Prompt from anonymous: Hi, could I request a Faramir x reader please? Prompt: "When you love someone, you just don't stop. Ever. Even when people roll their eyes or call you crazy… even then. Specially then!"

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The cold was what woke you up.

You were alone in the bed, the sheets wrapped protectively around you to keep the cool of the night out. Sleep clung heavily to your mind and bones, making it difficult for you to properly register the loss of your companion for a moment.

"Faramir?" You called out groggily into the darkness of the room. "Where are you?"

The answer came a moment later when the bed dipped under the weight of another person and a soft kiss was placed on your head. "I'm here, my love." He assured you, one calloused hand coming up to the side of your face. "The hour is still early; go back to sleep."

"Why are you awake?" You mumbled, trying to make him out in the darkness. "Is everything alright?" Minas Tirath wasn't under attack, was it? No, it couldn't be. You didn't hear any horns or sounds of armies marching. There were only the quiet sounds of the two of you breathing in the room.

"Everything's fine." He assured you, trying to gently guide you back into the embrace of the bed. "I'll be along soon."

Everything wasn't fine, your mind belatedly insisted even as your body agreed to the idea of more sleep. Faramir would only wake up like this if he were needed or if something was bothering him. Considering the lack of snappish advisors and frantic guardsmen at the door, it could only be the latter. "What's wrong?" You asked, pushing yourself up onto one elbow and reaching blindly in the direction of his face.

"I promise you, everything is well." Now that you were starting to wake up more, you could hear the tired, tense tone in his voice and feel the tension in his jaw.

"You only wake like this when you're bothered." You reminded him, making sure he could hear your unconvinced tone loud and clear. "What ails your mind?" Your voice dropped to a murmur.

He was still for a long moment under your hand before releasing a powerful breath, like he had been holding it for some time. "I dreamed of…of my father." He finally confessed, sounding slightly ashamed as he did so. "I could not return to sleep with those images in my mind, and I did not want to awaken you."

Denethor. You bit back an angry curse at Faramir's father, instead scowling into the darkness. Faramir's father always hung over him like a dark shadow, stealing the goodness and light of his youngest son with his acidic tongue and mercurial moods. Though Faramir was brave and fearless before his men and before Minas Tirath, it was only a mask to hide the deep insecurities his father had instilled in his gentle soul. "What did he do in the dream?" You asked, careful to keep the anger at his father out of your tone. He would easily misinterpret it as anger towards _him_.

"What he normally does. Speaks ill of me, demeans me in front of my brother and my men." He dropped his head to your shoulder, exhaling against your skin. "In front of you."

"What did we do in the dream?" You asked, carefully running your fingers through his hair. Some of the tension in his body left as your nails gently scraped his scalp.

"Laughed, joined with his scorning…leaving me." A shudder racked him and your heart broke at his broken, resigned tone. In that moment, you hated Denethor all the more for leading Faramir to believe so little in himself, for leading him to believe that those he cared for most would leave him for his weaknesses. "It was difficult to sleep after that."

"I'll say." You sighed, pressing a kiss into his hair. "I'm still here, love. I haven't left you and I'm not laughing at you. It was only just a dream." Your free hand snaked down to grab his and pull it to your chest where your heart was.

He didn't say anything but his other hand clutched you tightly to him, another shudder running through him.

"It's okay." You assured him again, knowing the comfort he drew from kind words and how desperately he needed it now. "It was just a dream. I'm here and I will always be here, just as I'll always love you. I will never stop loving you, even when the Sun and the Moon are swallowed by the Enemy and Middle-Earth ceases to be. I will love you even if others scorn and jeer at us, and I will love you even more then. Because you are the love of my life, my hero and great warrior of Gondor. You are an honor to your lineage no matter what your father may say."

It took several more murmured reassurances and gentle touches to get him to relax, but finally you felt the tension flee his body and exhaustion beginning to claim him. Wordlessly, you pulled him back down to the bed and against you, snuggling into the hollow beneath his jaw and shoulder.

"I will always be here." You promised one more time, wanting to make sure he knew that one simple truth, the one thing Denethor could never take away or destroy with his anger. You would say it as many times as you needed to until he believed you. "Always."

"Thank you, my love." He murmured. You pressed a kiss carefully to the pulse of his throat before the heaviness of sleep pulled you away.

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 _A/N: This was probably one of my favorite romance scenes to write; Faramir is such an easy guy to love and adore and what I look for in someone, personally. I figured Denethor's shadow would haunt him in a lot of the things he did and it provided the perfect comfort/love scene for this prompt. Denethor is a jerk and I absolutely hate him; someone should send me a request where I can make him miserable for what he did to him._


	3. Haldir-Reader

**Chapter Summary:** Prompt from anonymous: Hey there could I ask for a Haldir X reader with "I couldn't lose you before saying I love you." xx

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You saw what was happening before you had a chance to really process it.

The Uru-kai towered above him (all of them towered above the fighters at Helm's Deep), its horrific blade raised high to strike the killing blow on the blonde man. He wouldn't see it; he wouldn't turn in time to stop the blade's journey. He was injured and disoriented, the perfect prey.

Absolute horror and panic condensed into a storm of icy rage inside of you. Your arms moved without conscious direction, driven by the desperate thought of _protect him, protect him, he_ cannot _die!_ The arrow notched, the aim taken all in the span of a moment, the bow string released in the exhale of a breath-

You could hear the satisfying _thunk_ of arrowhead meeting flesh even this far across from the battlefield. Haldir jumped belatedly as the swan-fletched arrow flew by him and sank deep into the Uru-kai's head, killing it before it even knew what was coming. It dropped to the ground next to the elf, joining millions of its brothers on the battlefield this night. Haldir's eyes followed it to the ground before he raised his head to you.

Distantly, you could hear Estel calling for their retreat back to the fortress, even over the shrieking din around you, but your muscles seemed to freeze when his eyes met yours. His gaze, which normally was calm and placid, burned with an intensity that pinned you where you stood. He opened his mouth, as if to speak, but no words were formed.

" _Mellon-nin_ , we must go!" A hand on your shoulder jerked you out of your stupor, breaking whatever spell had settled over the two of you. Galel, a fellow archer and dear friend, was quickly tugging you away before you were left alone in the battlefield with thousands of Uru-kai. It would do you no good to save Haldir only to end up in the Halls of Mandos for not paying attention.

A quick glance from the corner of your eye revealed Estel was carrying Haldir away, supporting him as the injury he sustained took its toll. The icy fist that had been around your heart when you saw the Uru-kai relaxed and you felt like you could finally breathe again.

"You saved my life."

It took longer than usual for you to pull out of your thoughts, the weariness of battle sinking deep into your bones and mind. The battle for Helm's Deep was finally over. It was now very early in the morning, early enough Arien's light was just touching the highest points of the mountain and cresting over the hills.

Haldir gazed down at you where you sat on the streets of Helm's Deep, his wound bandaged up and calm expression back in place. The sight of him on his feet and moving around was more comforting than you would ever admit, considering the image of the Uru-kai posed to kill him had haunted your waking dreams since the battle's end.

"I did." You rasped out, wincing at how terrible you sounded. "You owe me no life debt, Haldir. I did not want it to kill you." Because if it had, if he had fallen at Helm's Deep, it would have broken and destroyed you. You would not have survived the battle either.

He frowned. "I do owe you my life, regardless of whether you wish it or not." Carefully, mindful of his injury, he sat across from you. "I should have died where I stood if your arrow hadn't found its mark in time."

 _If it hadn't._ Those words haunted you too, almost as badly as the image of the Uru-kai. You fought the shudder it tried to drag out of you.

"I couldn't see you die, Haldir." You told him again, fighting back a wave of exhausted and desperate emotion. Affection and terror, love for him and fear of his death, rose in equal parts. "I couldn't lose you before-" Your voice caught and you looked away, unable to force the words past the block in your throat.

 _Before I told you I love you_ , your heart whispered.

The touch of a warm hand on yours startled you badly. You whipped your head around to face Haldir, who was carefully holding your hands in between his and staring at you again with the same intensity he had on the battlefield.

"You did not lose me." He assured you, something going warm and soft in his eyes at those words.

You almost confessed everything in that moment, the one that felt like eternity and the blink of an eye all at once. You almost told him of the love you had felt in the years you had known him, the way your world had shifted when you first met him, the way you had known you would go with him to Helm's Deep long before he asked you or any of the others. Because you would not let him go to war without you there, without you to keep an eye on him and to keep him alive. Everything you had been keeping in for centuries wanted to burst like a geyser from your fëa.

But you restrained yourself, carefully and with what little self-control remained after such a fight. You were both exhausted and injured and there would be time on the way back to Lothlorien to tell him. To make sure he knew before you had the chance to lose him again.

Instead, you let your world condense down to the feeling of his hands in yours and the comforting knowledge that he was next to you, still warm and still breathing.

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 _A/N: Haldir seems to be a popular character in the Tolkien fandom, I've noticed. Him and Legolas, who also seems to be tied with his dad for the little black dress of the fandom. Amazingly enough, I have yet to get a Legolas prompt._

 _An AU of sorts where Haldir survives the Battle of Helm's Deep._


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